News

2016-02-16 16:14:48.407

$1.5 Billion Powerball Jackpot Sets New Proceeds Record to Education

The Missouri Lottery’s February proceeds transfer to public education has set an all-time record, thanks to the record-breaking $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot on Jan. 13. The Feb. 11 transfer of $42.1 million is by far the highest monthly transfer ever in the Lottery’s 30-year history.

“Not only was the record jackpot run a lot of fun, giving players a chance to do some serious dreaming, but it was also very beneficial for Missouri public education,” said May Scheve Reardon, executive director of the Missouri Lottery. “It wasn’t just Powerball sales that pushed sales and proceeds so high; we also had strong Scratchers sales, due in part to the holiday games and promotion, and more traffic in retail locations. Altogether, they created enormous sales and proceeds.”

Prior to this transfer, the largest monthly proceeds transfer was $30,359,547 in April 2012, which was a result of a then-record Mega Millions jackpot worth $656 million.

Reardon said many players also benefited from the jackpot run, including one $1 million Powerball prize won by eight U.S. Postal Service employees in St. Louis and 34 prizes worth $50,000 sold to players across Missouri. The state of Missouri collected 4 percent withholding taxes on these 35 prizes, which totaled $108,000.

“A total of $8.5 million in Powerball prizes were won during this run and $3.1 million was earned by retailers who sell Lottery tickets,” Reardon noted.
This month’s transfer of $42,101,583 is based on January ticket sales, and brings the FY16 total to education to more than $212.7 million.

Since Missouri Lottery sales started in 1986, the Lottery has generated more than $5.3 billion for the state and public education. Annual Lottery proceeds comprise about 4 percent of the state’s funding for public education – and effort shared by local, state and federal governments.

Programs funded in FY16 include the A+ Scholarship Program, the Foundation Program and Access Missouri, among many others. For complete information about Missouri Lottery proceeds, including maps of proceeds by program and by county, see the “Where the $ Goes” section at MOLottery.com.

In addition to providing funds for public education, the Lottery also benefits the state by collecting state taxes on prizes of more than $600. During the past fiscal year, the Lottery added $8.7 million in state tax collections from prize winnings to the General Revenue Fund.

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Three Scratchers to Expire in Next Couple Months

The redemption period for three Scratchers games will expire in the next couple of months. The games and their expiration dates are: